Saturday, October 29, 2011

I try to keep some basic dough on hand in case I want to bake up a quick pizza for dinner. When the Bread Baking Babes announced their October challenge, I realized that my 'pizza' dough would work perfectly.

Since I had a huge jar of Kalamata olives sitting in the fridge, I decided to use them as a filling for the fougasse.

I was really pleased that the slits didn't close up. That's success in my book!

Similar to focaccia, this is an easy and versatile bread.

The hostess this month was Elizabeth of blog from OUR Kitchen. Check out her blog to see what the other Babes baked. All of their breads sound so delicious! .

Cover lightly and let rest at room temperature until the dough rises and collapses, about 2 hours.

At this point the dough can be used or refrigerated for up to two weeks.

Shaping:Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Remove half of the dough, dust with flour, and shape into a ball. Flatten the dough until it's about 1/2" thick. Spread with 1/2 cup of chopped Kalamata olives, then roll, in jelly-roll fashion. Shape the roll into a ball, then, once again, flatten the dough until it is about 1/2" thick. Liberally flour the dough. Cut slits into the dough, adding flour as necessary to keep the slits open. Place on prepared baking sheet (parchment or greased), brush with olive oil, and let rest for 20 minutes.

Place in heated oven and bake until golden, about 25 to 35 minutes. (You can add a pan of hot water underneath to create a steam-like environment.)

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

This week at Tuesdays with Dorie we have yet another brownie version. This time the brownies are infused with ginger, both fresh and powdered.

While mild at first, as the brownies sit, the ginger permeates the cake and becomes more pronounced. I did have to bake these about 8 minutes longer than the recipe indicated, but they came out moist and cakey.

If you like ginger, you will like these brownies.

This week's hostess is Hindy (aka Clivia) of Bubie's Little Baker. You'll be able to find the recipe on her blog.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

No matter how hot the weather, I enjoy baking bread. Actually, the hot weather behaves like an assistant, allowing the dough to rise without any extra measures. While I eagerly anticipate Zorra's Bread Baking Day every month, I also look forward to October 16, World Bread Day.

Regularly, I choose back issues from my cooking magazine collection and revisit the recipes. Sometimes I find the older ones more appealing than the new or current recipes. It so happened that I was leafing through a Cooking Light issue from September 2007. The recipe for Swedish Saffron Bread stood out, so that is what I chose to bake.

My daughter had given me a jar of saffron for Mother's Day, so this was a perfect use for it.

Yeah, my braiding was a little funky, but it didn't affect the flavor, which was wonderful. The dough is full of golden raisins and currants with overtones of cinnamon and saffron. It smells like honey, although there is none included.

And, the slices make heavenly toast. This is truly one bread that I will make often.

So, I'm sending this colorful and delicious Swedish Saffron Bread over to Zorra in honor of World Bread Day. I'm also looking forward to seeing what other breads have been submitted. I see much bread baking in my immediate future!

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie venture was a basic biscuit. There is a choice between a sweet milk biscuit and a buttermilk biscuit. I chose the latter, since I keep buttermilk in the fridge and need to use it before it spoils.

I've been making biscuits for several decades. I rarely cut them in circles, but pat out the dough to the desired thickness, then cut it in to six or nine rectangles. These biscuits taste delicious no matter the shape.

They baked up tender and flaky with a golden brown top.

Our hostess this week is Jennifer of Cooking for Comfort. The biscuit recipe can be found on Jennifer's blog.

Head over to the LYL section of the TWD website to see what the other bakers thought.